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Running Revelations

Things went much better at the gym this morning than they did last night, even if I was a little rushed. I jumped from the treadmill to the rpm bike to the elliptical for 12 minutes on each machine which scorched almost 350 calories in less than 40 minutes! Win. Afterwards, I relocated to an open activity room and powered through both an arm and ab workout. I still maintain that it’s much more fun to workout amongst the older crew (today, the gym-go-ers ranged in age from about 20-23. (Kidding. Mostly.) The male: female ratio was about 250: 2 (Again, kidding. Mostly.) As I said, these inconsequential demographics don’t usually bother me, but I think something about the fact that this place is new to me is probably putting me on edge. I feel like everyone’s watching me! (In some cases, like last night when I was having a fit in front of the main picture window, they actually are watching me. 😉 ) Eventually, I’m sure I’ll be feeling fine, it’s definitely a very upbeat, clean and welcoming gym, so that’s nice. But until that day, I’ll continue to be antisocial and complete my workouts in hidden rooms away from the judging eyes. (Ha. How CRAZY do I sound right now? Don’t answer that.)

Today, I had two revelations as I trotted along on the treadmill without my tunes:

Music can make a WORLD of difference, especially in the case of the treadmill. A good song with steady beat can work wonders for both tempo and motivation.

Friends have asked me how I can “like” exercising and today I realized something: I don’t. I love the way it makes me feel afterwards and more than anything, I like what it does for my body (I’m sure those who spend time around me like what it does for my mind too 😛 ), but as far as the actual effort itself goes? I don’t think I’ve ever come across an exercise or workout that I would describe as enjoyable or fun. Not even a little. At the time, I hate what I’m doing, I hate looking like a Creature from the Deep and I often have to talk myself into continuing (you may remember the motivational pep talk I had to give myself during my 5k training that involved thoughts of how training to run would come in very handy if I were ever chased by a crocodile.) Even running, it’s not FUN, it’s uncomfortable and sweaty and exhausting. But afterwards, I feel like a million bucks. So what would make me EVER consider running a half marathon next year? I’m not entirely sure, but driving away from the gym today, I couldn’t stop thinking about finding the perfect one to register for in 2013.

In other news, the pumpkin spice coffee creamer is heaven on earth, I need a new book to read, I think I may have a peanut butter addiction, it looks like I’ll get to see Jordan this weekend, and my new dress came in the mail today!